Take action now for Palestinian political prisioner, join picket 8/20 & more

Sun Aug 16 16:35:05 PDT 2015

Help save a life & end Israel’s illegal imprisonment of Palestinians: 

   Please join Amnesty International <http://samidoun.net/2015/08/amnesty-international-urgent-action-to-release-muhammad-allan/> , the National Lawyers Guild <http://nlginternational.org/news/article.php?nid=661>  (see below) and others in demanding that that Israel immediately free Mohammed Allan and all other Palestinian political prisoners being held under “administrative detention”, which means they have not been charged with any crime.  Mr. Allan, a Palestinian lawyer, has been held over 8 months with no charges. He is currently on a hunger strike to demand his release. 
   Take Action:  Demand that President Obama and Congress put pressure on Israel to free Mohammed Allan and end their illegal practice of administrative detention. Contact the White House <https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments>  (202-456-1111) and your Senators <http://www.senate.gov/>  and Representatives <http://www.house.gov/>  (202-224-3121).

Join local actions:

●Tuesday, Aug 18, 4 - 6pm, Vigil for Palestinian Rights. 16th & J, Sacramento. 916-448-7157.

●Thursday, Aug 20, 6:45pm:  Informational picket asking  <http://www.usacbi.org/2015/06/vieux-farka-toure-do-not-dishonor-malian-music-and-cultural-heritage-by-entertaining-israeli-apartheid/> Vieux Farka Touré not to perform in apartheid Israel. 
    Harlow’s, 2708 J St, Sacramento. Thus far Touré has ignored requests to cancel his Israel performance scheduled for later this month. 
    Share this event on facebook. <https://www.facebook.com/events/1605323779741293/> 
    Please email Touré’s promoter, Abstract Entertainment, and tell them you hope Touré will support human rights and not play apartheid Israel: info at abstractentertainment.net. 
    FMI: SacReg4PalestinianRights at gmail.com

More actions:

♦ Put a “I support Palestinian rights” bumper sticker on your car or bike, send $2 to: SAPA, 909 121th Street, Sacramento 95814. FMI: 916-448-7157; sacramentobds at gmail.com

♦ Wear a “Got human rights, Palestinians don’t” union-made t-shirt, $10+ postage. For details: 916-448-7157; sacramentobds at gmail.com

♦ Demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel <http://www.aidtoisrael.org/section.php?id=379>  

♦ Boycott companies aiding Israel's abuses <http://www.sacbds.org/products>  

♦ Sign petitions for Palestinian rights <http://www.sacbds.org/petitions>  

Excerpts from National Lawyers Guild alert <http://nlginternational.org/news/article.php?nid=661>  on Mohammad Allan:

“The  <http://nlginternational.org/news/article.php?nid=661> National Lawyers Guild urges the immediate release of hunger-striking Palestinian lawyer and administrative detainee,  <http://www.addameer.org/news/palestinian-administrative-detainee-hunger-strike-critical-condition-1> Muhammed Allan, as he nears death in his third month on open hunger strike. Allan is now in a coma and attached to a ventilator. He is threatened with force-feeding at any moment under the new Israeli “Law to Prevent Harm Caused by Hunger Strikers,” passed last month, which legalizes its use against hunger striking prisoners….

“Allan, 31, is a lawyer from Einabous village near Nablus. He is held under  <https://www.nlg.org/news/releases/nlg-fact-finding-delegation-calls-end-us-backed-administrative-detention-palestinians> administrative detention, without charge or trial, on the basis of secret evidence. Administrative detention orders result in imprisonment for a period of one to six months, and are indefinitely renewable. When Allan was arrested in November 2014, he was handcuffed, forcibly taken to his office in Nablus, and ordered to show files of clients he had represented, interfering with his attorney-client relationships and violating their confidentiality. He was ordered to a six-month period of detention; the renewal of the order against him prompted his current strike.

“Under international human rights law, administrative detention can only be used on a case-by-case basis for “imperative reasons of security.” Israel’s systematic use of administrative detention, in which approximately 400 Palestinians are currently held, violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

 <http://%22addameer.org/news/addameer-%E2%80%9Cforce-feeding%E2%80%9D-bill-legitimizes-and-institutionalizes-torture%22> Force feeding is opposed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which stresses the importance of respecting the choices and preserving the dignity of detainees. The World Medical Association (WMA) adopts a similar position, as expressed in the 2006 revision of the Tokyo and Malta Declarations. The Malta Declaration of the World Health Organization states that “Any decisions lack moral force if made involuntarily by use of threats, peer pressure or coercion. Hunger strikers should not be forcibly given treatment they refuse. Forced feeding contrary to an informed and voluntary refusal is unjustifiable…Forcible feeding is never ethically acceptable. Even if intended to benefit, feeding accompanied by threats, coercion, force or use of physical restraints is a form of inhuman and degrading treatment. Equally unacceptable is the forced feeding of some detainees in order to intimidate or coerce other hunger strikers to stop fasting.”

“The National Lawyers Guild urges the immediate release of Muhammed Allan from administrative detention and an end to the use of administrative detention by the Israeli state. Furthermore, the NLG calls for the overturn of the “Law to Prevent Harm Caused by Hunger Strikers,” legalizing force-feeding, and also reiterates its demand that the U.S. government end its use of force-feeding and hold those responsible for the torture of detainees accountable….

“The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council, the Arab Association for Human Rights, Adalah and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel <http://samidoun.net/2015/08/take-action-palestinian-human-rights-organizations-urge-action-as-allan-enters-critical-condition/>  have called for urgent action on Allan’s case. The National Lawyers Guild joins their call (below) and also urges members and supporters to contact the White House and demand Allan’s freedom, and contact your member of Congress and urge them to cut off U.S. aid to Israel because of its practices of administrative detention and torture.

Please call the White House (202-456-1111) now and tell Barack Obama to demand that Israel immediately free Mohammed Allan.

You can find the telephone, fax and web contact information for your member of Congress at www.contactingthecongress.org. When calling your member of Congress, please keep the following points in mind:

·        Muhammed Allan is held without charge or trial. He is one of approximately 400 Palestinians facing this violation of his rights today.

·        Force feeding, when practiced by the US or by Israel, is a form of inhumane and degrading treatment amounting to torture.

·        US aid to Israel directly funds the Israeli military responsible for the imprisonment of Allan and the use of administrative detention.

·        The US should end its aid to Israel, because Israel is responsible for gross and systematic violations of Palestinian human rights, in this case through the policy of administrative detention.

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To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to ask questions, email: SacReg4PalestinianRights at gmail.com

Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights <http://www.sac4palestine.org/> 

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